Britannica Opens Site for Free Access to Web Publishers, Linking

CHICAGO, April 29 /PRNewswire/ -- Bloggers, webmasters, online
journalists and anyone else who publishes regularly on the Internet can now
get free subscriptions to Britannica Online (http://www.britannica.com).
Anyone interested in participating in Britannica's new WebShare
initiative can apply for a free subscription at http://signup.eb.com or get
more information at http://britannicanet.com.
The free subscriptions are part of Britannica's effort to increase
awareness and use of its extensive information resources, which include
articles written by many top scholars, some of them Nobel laureates.
"It's good business for us and a benefit to people who publish on the
Net," said Britannica president Jorge Cauz. "The level of professionalism
among Web publishers has really improved, and we want to recognize that by
giving access to the people who are shaping the conversations about the
issues of the day. Britannica belongs in the middle of those
conversations."
In addition to the free subscriptions, Web publishers can also bring
the value of Britannica's content to their own sites by linking to any
articles they find relevant to the topics they're writing about.
Access to much of the site, including full-text entries from the
Encyclopaedia Britannica, normally requires a paid subscription. There's an
exception to that rule, however: When a Web site links to a Britannica
article Web surfers who click on that link get the article in its entirety.
"This means that when you're writing something for the Web, whether
it's about Tibet, the U.S. presidential election, global warming or the
Peace of Westphalia, you can give your readers additional information about
the topic just by pointing them to the appropriate Britannica articles,"
said Cauz. "If an article normally requires a subscription to access it,
your readers will get it anyway, even if they're not subscribers.
"Bloggers, journalists, and Web sites link all the time, of course, but
they may not realize they have the option of pointing to Britannica
articles. So let me be clear: they do."
Cauz said that Web publishers can link to as many Britannica articles
as they like.
The company also plans to provide special tools, such as widgets and
clusters of topical articles related to current events that will make it
easy for online publishers to find and use Britannica material on their
sites.
The public is also invited to follow Britannica's Twitter stream, a
daily "tweet" featuring a link to a Britannica article pertinent to the
news of the day. This feature, at http://twitter.com/EBWebshare, requires a
free account.
Additional features designed to facilitate the use of Britannica
content around the Web will be introduced in the months ahead.
Interested writers and publishers can go to http://britannicanet.com
for more. The site has instructions, a registration form, currently
available topic clusters, eligibility guidelines, and a Britannica-written
blog to keep visitors up to date on the program and how it is being used.
The social media version of this release is available at
http://britannicanet.com/?page_id=34.
About Encyclopaedia Britannica
Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc. is a leader in reference and education
publishing whose products can be found in many media, from the Internet to
cell phones to books. A pioneer in electronic publishing since the early
1980s, the company also still publishes the 32-volume Encyclopaedia
Britannica, along with services such as Britannica Online School Edition
and new printed products, which are available online at
http://store.britannica.com. The company makes its headquarters in Chicago.